Say it ain’t so! As professionals who have been in the social media game for so long, the day that we have dreamed of has finally arrived.
For as long as we can remember, Instagram has solely focused on its app while its desktop version has always sort of been the afterthought.
The social media platform has been known to be slow when it comes to implementing features on its web app, particularly on desktops. After all, Direct Messaging only became available last year while Story viewing through the web was only made available in 2017- about a year after the feature was launched.
But change is finally happening! Instagram is thinking about letting users post from their computers.
Not only is this more accessible in terms of user experience, but it also makes it convenient to post content by directly uploading photos and videos from the desktop instead of going through the extra steps of transferring files to our phones. Talk about a practical game changer!
Even though we as social media professionals use third-party scheduling tools as part of our daily workflow, the idea of being able to instantly post through our computers is actually nice.
Question is, why now? What’s suddenly made the platform implement posting features from the desktop?
According to Tech Crunch, the pandemic has apparently been playing a huge role as Instagram saw a rise in people cruising the platform from their computers rather than through the app on their phones.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Facebook/Instagram spokesperson Christine Pai said, “We know that many people access Instagram from their computer. To improve that experience, we’re now testing the ability to create a Feed post on Instagram with their desktop browser.”
Social Media Consultant Matt Navarra shared some screenshots on Twitter to show users that Instagram will enable desktop users to select aspect ratios, apply built-in filters, and use basic editing parameters within the browser.
To access this feature, you’ll need to head to Instagram in your browser and look for a new “plus” icon in the icon tray on the top right.
Before we get too excited, it turns out the feature isn’t appearing for everyone yet and only allows certain users to create posts for the main feed. Until then, we’ll keep waiting for that little plus icon to appear on the top right of the Instagram page through the desktop screen!